Photo: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images
Moscow. April, 4. INTERFAX.RU – Finland has officially joined NATO, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said during a ceremony at which Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto presented him with the last documents necessary for this.
“Now we can announce that Finland has become the 31st member of NATO,” Blinken said.
He noted that all the necessary formalities have been completed, and now Finland is a full member of the alliance.
Earlier, all the states of the North Atlantic Alliance ratified the application of Helsinki. Türkiye and Hungary were the last to do so.
NATO member states signed the accession protocols for Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Council on 5 July 2022.
Turkey blocked the accession process, demanding that both Scandinavian countries designate Kurdish organizations as terrorists, extradite those accused of terrorism, and lift arms bans on Ankara.
However, in March, Ankara announced that they were ready to ratify the Finnish candidacy before the May presidential elections in Turkey. At the same time, in the case of Sweden, Turkey currently has objections to its membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.
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